This invention is directed to a soft luggage piece, in particular, a Pullman style duffle bag, and even more particularly a wheeled upright standing duffle bag.
Duffle bags are well known in the art. Generally, duffle bags are made of soft materials on all sides to form an enclosure. Duffle bags are usually rectangular in shape, in other words, they are longer than they are wide. An opening is provided in duffle bags providing access to the interior of the duffle bag along a major access, i.e. along its length. These conventional duffle bags, most popularized for use when camping or for use by soldiers, have been satisfactory however, they were required to be carried over the shoulder leading to fatigue. Furthermore, because the entire structure was soft, they did not provide stability while filling or emptying the duffle bag.
To overcome these shortcomings in the prior art, it is also known to provide a bottom to a duffle bag by providing some type of rigid structure within the duffle bag along one surface, nominally a long side of the duffle bag to provide stability to the duffle while the duffle bag is loaded from the opposed side. It is also known to provide skids or feet along the support structure and even wheels on one corner of the support structure. The remaining sides of the duffle bag are soft to maximize the capacity of the duffle bag interior while allowing the bag to fold upon itself for storage.
Accordingly, it is desired to provide a duffle bag which maintains the functionality of a duffle bag as a result of soft-sided enclosure while providing stability for a duffle bag in an upright position without interfering with its ability to collapse upon itself for storage.